


Happiness is a Warm Gun

by thequidditchpitch_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drama, Slytherin, The Quidditch Pitch: Slytherin Common Room
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-22
Updated: 2006-07-22
Packaged: 2018-10-27 17:58:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10813953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequidditchpitch_archivist/pseuds/thequidditchpitch_archivist
Summary: Narcissa loves Lucius.  So does Severus.  They rely on one another for sanity, both reluctantly caught in the middle of the war.





	Happiness is a Warm Gun

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

  
Author's notes: Originally part of my [Come Together](http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=ficbymarks&keyword=Come+Together&filter=all) series of fics.

* * *

Severus flooed to Malfoy Manor, thanking whatever gods that the Hogwarts networks were no longer being monitored. He felt a bit selfish for thinking that the Ministry interference had wrecked havoc on his sex life, instead of thinking about how it hindered the work of the Order or how it frustrated the students and faculty. But he'd felt that, too, hadn't he? So, it was only a bit selfish. 

These visits, they were Severus' salvation. Funny to find salvation at the hands of a Malfoy. 

Well, a Black, if he wanted to be technical about it. 

Narcissa was waiting, as he knew she would be, in the study in the East Wing; the one that contained her own family history, as opposed to Lucius's. She looked worse than the last time he'd seen her. Her face was gaunt, lips down-turned, dark circles playing under her eyes, and she'd obviously lost weight, when she'd had no reason to want to do so. So, she felt the loss of Lucius more strongly than he'd anticipated. Guilt flared because he understood with no Ministry pressure on Hogwarts, a great deal of it must have shifted to the Malfoys. With Lucius incarcerated, he imagined the raids must be almost daily. Wrinkling his brow slightly, he went to her. 

But the first words out of his mouth weren't "You don't look well" or "I'm sorry for the way the Ministry must be treating you". Rather, he blurted out, "Where's Draco?" 

Narcissa looked startled, but answered. "He's not here. I believe he may be with Gregory Goyle. Don't worry, Severus. You know I won't let my son find out what his mother and favourite teacher get up to." After a moment, she added, "Or what his favourite teacher and his father get up to." 

Severus bit back the stinging reply he wished to make. Narcissa was hurting, he'd asked a stupid question, and they'd long ago decided not to mention Lucius when they met like this. As Narcissa had put it, "You know I sleep with him, I know you sleep with him. We both know that a good deal of what we've learned, we've learned from him. No reason for us to discuss it." A good policy. Instead, he settled for merely nodding and further closed the distance between them. Offering a hand, he pulled Narcissa to her feet. 

He bent down, closing his lips over hers, relishing the relief that only another human's body could provide. She melted into his arms quickly. Severus momentarily entertained the notion that she was completely boneless, until her arms wrapped around his neck, her hands tangling in his hair. Narcissa deepened the kiss and their tongues battled fiercely, as Severus' hands moved to the front of her dark green robes, slowly tugging at each button, delaying her freedom from her garments. Narcissa liked drawing things out as long as possible and he was only too willing to accommodate her. 

As her small hands moved around to his front, he thought about how he'd come to rely on her. It'd been many years now, sometime when she was pregnant with Draco, though they didn't consummate their relationship until much later. He was having his doubts about Voldemort and she'd never been as dark a creature as her family name had made her seem. Cunning, ambitious, a Slytherin and a Black through and through, yes, but not evil. She dealt with Lucius because of his blood, because of his money, because it brought pleasure to her family. 

And yes, because she loved him. Severus loved him, too. It's what drew him into Voldemort's fold in the first place. Lucius would never change and he and Narcissa both knew that, so they drew comfort from one another. Narcissa would never betray the knowledge that his loyalty was questionable at best, though she wasn't aware Severus was a spy. 

He leaned down to place kisses along her collarbone, eliciting gasps when his hands roamed across her neck, chest, and stomach. Pushing the remainder of her robes to the floor, he lifted her small body to the desk in the middle of the room, parting her knees so he could stand between them. Eyes wild, Narcissa began shoving Severus' various layers off his body. Severus chuckled and took a step back so he could remove them himself. When done, he closed the distance again and pressed against her breasts, relishing the skin to skin contact. 

Severus shuddered when Narcissa claimed his earlobe for her own and whispered, "Severus, don't be gentle with me." 

He wasn't. 

Later, they lay on the rug near the room's fireplace, under a blanket Severus had conjured. They lay curled around one another, Severus spooning Narcissa from behind and he whispered meaningless things as he placed fluttery kisses on her shoulders. When her small body started shaking, he realised she was crying. 

"Shh," he said, a pit forming in his stomach. Severus would be understating things if he said he wasn't quite how to reassure a crying woman. "It'll be all right, Narcissa." 

Narcissa flipped around to face him, grey eyes flashing. "Will it, Severus? You've never made a habit of lying to me. My husband is in Azkaban and my son is preparing to join the ranks of the Dark Lord, who is the reason my husband is in Azkaban. A war that was sublimated for fifteen years will soon be raging all around us and you say everything will be all right." 

"Fine. It won't be all right. It'll be bloody and many people are going to die," he said, carefully keeping any emotion out of his voice. "But you're safe with me, right now. This is why we do this, isn't it? To take comfort out of one another." 

"To make sure we're both alive," Narcissa said, sighing. 

Severus nodded. He needed her, she needed him, and even though it was dangerous and stupid and would probably get them both killed when they were inevitably discovered, it made him happy. He needed this. 

 


End file.
